Your handy 2021 NHL Trade Deadline primer after busy weekend
The 2021 NHL Trade Deadline is finally here.
What a weekend in the National Hockey League. Ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline today, we were treated to a flurry of moves with some of the biggest names available going off the board, setting today up to either be very quiet or busy with some major surprises potentially in store.
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We saw Taylor Hall get dealt to the Boston Bruins by the Buffalo Sabres, which has just been made official, the Toronto Maple Leafs loaded up by acquiring forward Nick Foligno from the Columbus Blue Jackets and goaltender David Rittich from the Calgary Flames, and the Pittsburgh Penguins added some veteran presence after trading for center Jeff Carter from the LA Kings.
That followed a busy Saturday as the Tampa Bay Lightning somehow got stronger by acquiring defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Colorado Avalanche got some goaltending help in the form of veteran Devan Dubnyk, and the Florida Panthers traded for Buffalo Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour.
With the New York Islanders acquiring forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils earlier in the week too, it has been a busy few days in the lead up to the NHL Trade Deadline and there could be plenty more movement as we edge closer to the 3:00 p.m. ET Deadline later today.
Your 2021 NHL Trade Deadline Primer on what could be a busy day
There are still a couple of big names out there that could be moved including Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm, while the Buffalo Sabres could continue to sell off some considerable pieces as could the likes of the New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames.
The LA Kings could also continue to be sellers after trading away veteran forward Jeff Carter to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, the Boston Bruins are still in need of a top-four defenseman, there could be a couple of goalies on the move and forward Mike Hoffman could be an interesting name to keep an eye on given that his time with the St. Louis Blues hasn’t exactly panned out.
We are also waiting to see what a couple of fringe postseason teams could end up doing, including the Philadelphia Flyers who might be wise to sell off pieces rather than be a buyer, and the New York Rangers could be in the same boat especially considering that they have the cap room available to be the third team in a trade and acquire some assets for the future just for taking on some extra salary, as we saw a number of other teams do this weekend.
There are a boatload of other teams worth keeping an eye on throughout today, and there is every chance that we are in for a very busy Trade Deadline despite the fact that we are living in a flat cap world and some teams may be hesitant to engage in today’s festivities.
Next trade for Avs should be a big one. dark. Next
Overall, it should be a fun day and we’ve got you covered here at Puck Prose throughout the day and all the way up to the 3:00 p.m. ET cutoff point. We’ll be setting up a live Trade Deadline Trade Tracker shortly, while we will have plenty of analysis up throughout the day on all the trades that happened over the weekend and any that take place today, so stick with us as we guide you through the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline!